NBC transmitter (Oct-Dec 1944)

December 1944 WTIC WINS PRAISE FROM PARTIES AND STATE FOR GETTING OOT THE VOTERS A WINNER SPEAKS An exclusive broadcast by Governor-Elect Phil Donnelly was presented by KSD, St. Louis, from Donnelly' s home in Lebanon, Missouri— 170 miles away— when election returns indicated a Democratic victory in Missouri. NBC affiliates throughout the U.S.A. were “ on their toes" in bringing victors to the mike almost the moment ballot results were known. Maine's NBC Outlets Show Ingenuity in Election Set-up PORTLAND, ME.— Covering elections is an old story to NBC affiliate WCSH. Without benefit of newspaper alliance, WCSH, even before news wire services were installed, managed to do a rather creditable job of supplying state election returns to its listeners. The same basic method of obtaining returns still is employed but the results have improved with experience and increased efficiency. The old barometric saw, “as goes Maine, so goes the nation,” while no longer to be trusted, grew out of the Maine custom of holding state primaries in June and elections for state and Congressional candidates in September, months ahead of other states. Twice in each election year, then, WCSH sets up its election return coverage and tabulation system, now operated in conjunction with similar set-ups at NBC Stations WRDO, Augusta, and WLBZ, Bangor. A week or so before Election Dav, WCSH sends a letter to each city and town clerk in the six counties to be covered by this station, asking them to telephone the results of the balloting in their respective precincts as soon as the votes have been counted. A special telephone number is assigned for these collect calls. WRDO and WLBZ cover the other 10 ( Continued on page 14) HARTFORD, CONN.-“It is the duty and high privilege of every American to vote." With the eyes of the nation centered on the recent Presidential election. WTIC adopted this as the basic theme for an extensive public service program to get out the vote in Connecticut. In order to vote in Connecticut one’s name must be on the list of the registrar of voters. Realizing that there are 160 towns in the state, that registration dales were not entirely uniform, and that new residents had poured into Connecticut since the outbreak of the war, the station decided that a complete list of registration dates should be made available to all listeners, A close check by WTIC revealed that in the whole state a complete list of registration dates was not available at any one source, so the first job of the campaign was to compile such a list. The station's news department was called in to work on the project of collecting the information, and business reply postcards were sent to the clerks in the 169 towns and cities in the state. The cards read: “WTIC is planning to broadcast the 1944 dates on which Connecticut citizens can register so that the) may vote this fall. Will you please fill out the attached card, giving the dates for registration in your town. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.” The cards started to flow’ back almost immediately, along with the information desired. In cases where the replies failed to give the complete data, another contact was made and full information obtained. From the Secretary of State. WTIC secured official information on absentee ballots, registration of soldiers, and voting laws of the state. All this information was compiled by WTIC’s news staff into a workable file for ready reference. This included an alphabetical card index of the town and city registration dates, places and hours of registration, absentee requirements, etc. With the necessary information in its possession. WTIC then prepared a series of spot announcements for broadcast— all designed to remind the listeners that it was their dutv to vote, but that they first must be registered. WTIC offered to supply registration information. These announcements were scattered generously through the day and night schedule. That the project was successful and offered a real public service is shown by the comments from the registrars who cooperated in compiling the information, and from the many phone calls as the result of the broadcast announcements. WTIC received high praise from state officials, and from heads of Republican and Democratic parties in the state. Listeners, too, expressed their appreciation. Secretary of State Frances Burke Redick said: “We congratulate Station WTIC on the job it has done. It goes without saying that all persons, independent of party affiliation, backed up this splendid service which was offered strictly on a non-partisan basis, and aimed only at enabling every qualified individual to ‘speak his mind’ with a ballot in the election. “To WTIC, we say, may your course bring to pass in our nation a richer, fuller meaning of citizenship, and its inherent rights and duties.” Patients in McGuire General Hospital. Richmond, Virginia, listen to Presidential returns in the American Red Cross recreation room. The radio program, broadcast over WMBG, absorbed the interest of sick and wounded patients returned from overseas. Scenes like this were duplicated at other hospitals and servicemen's centers.